Father of injured Little League World Series player says he has chance for full recovery

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The father of the Little League World Series player who seriously injured his head when he fell out of his top bunk in the dorms said there is a chance his son can make a full recovery when he returns home to Utah.

Jace Oliverson told The Associated Press on Sunday night his 12-year-old-son, Easton, was expected to fly back Tuesday to Utah and that he will remain in a hospital there.

«I'm just grateful that he's still alive, because I was pretty much told he had a zero percent chance to live,» Oliverson said. «We feel very fortunate.»

Easton Oliverson, a pitcher and outfielder for the Snow Canyon team out of Santa Clara, Utah, suffered the injury on Monday.

«There is a chance of a full recovery,» Jace Oliverson said. «It's just a matter of how long and the therapy that he's going to receive. We're just asking for prayers. Continuous prayers.»

The Snow Canyon team, the first from Utah to make the Little League World Series, was eliminated from the tournament on Sunday with a 10-2 loss to the team from Iowa.

Oliverson said the traumatic week «most definitely played a part» in the two losses.

«I feel bad that this incident with East had to happen and it kind of put a damper on their week,» Oliverson said. «It was the first time Utah's ever been here, done that. It's a big deal, especially in Utah.»

The Oliverson family has kept Easton's condition continuously updated on social media with photos of the boy — in a wheelchair and wearing baseball T-shirts — posing for pictures with his family and friends. He watched the team's first Little League World Series game from his hospital bed dressed in his team gear. Easton can communicate with his parents, and a video attached to a recent post also showed him